1. Field of the Invention. The present invention relates generally to the field of medical treatment and, more particularly, to a system and method for treating ischemic stroke which involves removing a thromboembolism from a cerebral artery of a patient.
2. Description of the Background Art. Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability and a growing problem to global healthcare. In the US alone, over 700,000 people per year suffer a major stroke and, of these, over 150,000 people die. Even more disturbing, this already troubling situation is expected to worsen as the “baby boomer” population reaches advanced age, particularly given the number of people suffering from poor diet, obesity and/or other contributing factors leading to stroke. Of those who survive a stroke, approximately 90% will have long-term impairment of movement, sensation, memory or reasoning, ranging from mild to severe. The total cost to the US healthcare system is estimated to be over $50 billion per year. Strokes may be caused by a rupture of a cerebral artery (“hemorrhagic stroke”) or a blockage in a cerebral artery due to a thromboembolism (“ischemic stroke”). A thromboembolism is a detached blood clot that travels through the bloodstream and lodges so as to obstruct or occlude a blood vessel. Between the two types of strokes, ischemic stroke comprises the larger problem, with over 600,000 people in the US suffering from ischemic stroke per year.
Ischemic stroke treatment may be accomplished via pharmacological elimination of the thromboembolism and/or mechanical elimination of the thromboembolism. Pharmacological elimination may be accomplished via the administration of thombolytics (e.g., streptokinase, urokinase, tissue plasminogen activator (TPA>> and/or anticoagulant drugs (e.g., heparin, warfarin) designed to dissolve and prevent further growth of the thromboembolism. Pharmacologic treatment is non-invasive and generally effective in dissolving the thromboembolism. Notwithstanding these generally favorable aspects, significant drawbacks exist with the use of pharmacologic treatment. One such drawback is the relatively long amount of time required for the thrombolytics and/or anticoagulants to take effect and restore blood flow. Given the time-critical nature of treating ischemic stroke, any added time is potentially devastating. Another significant drawback is the heightened potential of bleeding or hemorrhaging elsewhere in the body due to the thombolytics and/or anticoagulants.
Mechanical elimination of thromboembolic material for the treatment of ischemic stroke has been attempted using a variety of catheter-based transluminal interventional techniques. One such interventional technique involves deploying a coil into a thromboembolism (e.g. via corkscrew action) in an effort to ensnare or envelope the thromboembolism so it can be removed from the patient. Although an improvement over pharmacologic treatments for ischemic stroke, such coil-based retrieval systems have only enjoyed modest success (approximately 55%) in overcoming ischemic stroke due to thromboembolic material slipping past or becoming dislodged by the coil. In the latter case, the dislodgement of thromboembolic material may lead to an additional stroke in the same artery or a connecting artery.
Another interventional technique involves deploying a basket or net structure distally (or downstream) from the thromboembolism in an effort to ensnare or envelope the thromboembolism so it can be removed from the patient. Again, although overcoming the drawbacks of pharmacologic treatment, this nonetheless suffers a significant drawback in that the act of manipulating the basket or net structure distally from the occluded segment without angiographic roadmap visualization of the vasculature increases the danger of damaging the vessel. In addition, removing the basket or net structure may permit if not cause thromboembolic material to enter into connecting arteries. As noted above, this may lead to an additional stroke in the connecting artery.
A still further interventional technique for treating ischemic stroke involves advancing a suction catheter to the thromboembolism with the goal of removing it via aspiration (i.e. negative pressure). Although generally safe, removal via aspiration is only effective with relatively soft thrombus-emboli. To augment the effectiveness of aspiration techniques, a rotating blade has been employed to sever or fragment the thromboembolism, which may thereafter be removed via the suction catheter. While this rotating blade feature improves the effectiveness of such an aspiration technique, it nonetheless increases the danger of damaging the vessel due to the rotating blade.
The foregoing interventional techniques, as well as others in the prior art, all suffer one or more drawbacks and are believed to be sub-optimal for treating ischemic stroke. The present invention is directed at overcoming, or at least improving upon, the disadvantages of the prior art.